SPM ON THE RISE
WEST SIDE PLUS (TIMES OF INDIA - APR 2003)
By Skimmy Gupta
The endless phenomenon of road diggings at Link road from past many months is giving nightmares to people in the vicinity. But this problem is slowly turning into a serious health hazard wherein local residents and environmental groups feel this area might have the highest count of SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) in the city. The civic authorities have turned a blind eye to it as many feel the road digging has got aggravated due to lack of planning, strategy formulation and proper management by concerned authorities. If this contract were handed to a more professional company, the recent situation would have been better. It seems that if the authorities do not take immediate steps, the commuters on Link Road and neighboring areas will still have to bear the traffic jams, congested roads and inhale densely -polluted air in future.
Kiran Ajmera, member, Environment Action Group, Andheri (west) says, “The endless digging on the link road by BMC is yet another example of their careless and lethargic attitude. Stones are thrown around carelessly. No alternate traffic arrangements have been made to ensure tolerable and smooth flow of traffic. Its pathetic that one hand State Government feels trucks should be banned for pollution while on other hand the local ward authorities are not bothered about continuously increasing pollution in the area. Due to lack of planning and concerned attitude, normal person is bearing the brunt of inhaling dust and other harmful particles."
An environmentalist, Lokhandwala on condition of anonymity informs, “I move around in and out of city quite often. If carried a survey as a watch dog as an enviromentalist, Andheri (west) does have the highest count of SPM.”
G.N Mohite, sub –regional officer, Maharashtra Pollution and Control Board (MPCB) told West Side Plus, “Recently, SPM level has gone higher in the Andheri area due to the ongoing temporary corporation work like road digging, concretization of roads etc. This gives rise to regular traffic jams and thus increased pollution. But the irony is that such works cannot be stopped, as they are developmental projects. BMC can bring down SPM level by speeding up their roadwork. But we are planning to carry out a fresh survey particularly of Andheri (west) area to detect the latest SPM count and take immediate steps to curb the count.”
G.P Rathod, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, K-West Ward was not available for comments.
===========================================================
By Skimmy Gupta
The endless phenomenon of road diggings at Link road from past many months is giving nightmares to people in the vicinity. But this problem is slowly turning into a serious health hazard wherein local residents and environmental groups feel this area might have the highest count of SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) in the city. The civic authorities have turned a blind eye to it as many feel the road digging has got aggravated due to lack of planning, strategy formulation and proper management by concerned authorities. If this contract were handed to a more professional company, the recent situation would have been better. It seems that if the authorities do not take immediate steps, the commuters on Link Road and neighboring areas will still have to bear the traffic jams, congested roads and inhale densely -polluted air in future.
Kiran Ajmera, member, Environment Action Group, Andheri (west) says, “The endless digging on the link road by BMC is yet another example of their careless and lethargic attitude. Stones are thrown around carelessly. No alternate traffic arrangements have been made to ensure tolerable and smooth flow of traffic. Its pathetic that one hand State Government feels trucks should be banned for pollution while on other hand the local ward authorities are not bothered about continuously increasing pollution in the area. Due to lack of planning and concerned attitude, normal person is bearing the brunt of inhaling dust and other harmful particles."
An environmentalist, Lokhandwala on condition of anonymity informs, “I move around in and out of city quite often. If carried a survey as a watch dog as an enviromentalist, Andheri (west) does have the highest count of SPM.”
G.N Mohite, sub –regional officer, Maharashtra Pollution and Control Board (MPCB) told West Side Plus, “Recently, SPM level has gone higher in the Andheri area due to the ongoing temporary corporation work like road digging, concretization of roads etc. This gives rise to regular traffic jams and thus increased pollution. But the irony is that such works cannot be stopped, as they are developmental projects. BMC can bring down SPM level by speeding up their roadwork. But we are planning to carry out a fresh survey particularly of Andheri (west) area to detect the latest SPM count and take immediate steps to curb the count.”
G.P Rathod, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, K-West Ward was not available for comments.
===========================================================
Labels: City
posted by Skimmy @ June 14, 2008
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home